The much awaited Champions League got off to a rousing start first by the various performers who put up a magnificent display as part of the opening ceremony. And then the cricket that was played thereafter was no less exciting as the IPL runners up Bangalore Royal Challengers took on the team from South Africa, Cape Cobras. Anil Kumble won the toss in front of the capacity Chinnaswamy stadium and decided to bat first. His team put up a competitive 180/4 but that was overhauled by the Cobras, thanks mainly to a brilliant unbeaten 99 from JP Duminy.
The Bangalore innings never really got any impetus as most of their top order batsmen failed to get things going. Infact it wasn’t until the 10th over that their innings run rate crossed the 7 runs/over mark. Although Uthappa compiled a useful 51 from 39 balls and Dravid chipped in with 28 off 24, it was the late order assault from Ross Taylor that took their innings to 180. The Kiwi blasted 53 from 24 balls that contained 4 hits to the fence and 4 maximums. The last 4 overs accounted for 57 runs as the bowlers could do little against the rampaging Taylor. For the Cobras, Charl Langevelt was the most economical bowler as his 3 overs went for just 12 and he also picked up the wicket of Jacques Kallis.
The Cobras’ innings got off to a bad start as both their openers, Herschelle Gibbs and skipper Andrew Puttick were sent back to the pavilion by the end of 3 overs with very little on the board. JP Duminy however looked good right from the outset and although he lost partners at regular intervals, importantly he was there till the end to see his team home. Henry Davis, Justin Ontong and Ryan Canning, all made important contributions in the context of the chase but it was Duminy’s batting that was the highlight of this Champions League opener! His innings contained 5 6s and 8 boundaries and the South African was extremely unlucky to be stranded on 99 that came of a mere 52 balls. His calculated innings ensured that the competitive total set by the Royal Challengers was eventually completed with relative ease. Not surprisingly, he was named the ‘Man of the Match’ and he himself said that this was ‘by far the best’ he’d ever played in this format of the game.
The Cape Cobras would next face the 3rd team in their group, Otago on Saturday while Bangalore would face them on Monday.